Minutes 05-08-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Commissioner Gordon referred to the fiscal constraints and asked if the annual revenue made available was for the Orange County Bus and Rail Investment Plan or something else. Bret Martin said this is just from the half cent sales tax and the vehicle registration fees. Commissioner Gordon said she wants clarification on what Triangle Transit Authority (TTA) is proposing, and what Orange Public Transit (OPT) is proposing. She suggested a matrix to make it clear. She said her understanding is that TTA is proposing the ODX, and Orange Public Transit is proposing the other ones. She said her question is how many bus service hours are being offered in each case, and how differential costs between the two entities are accounted for. The operating costs for the bus service hours are so different, and she wonders how this works. Bret Martin said the full implementation for OPT's program would give a total of 7,520 hours. Erik Landfried said phase 1 will give 1,500 hours per year, and when it expands out to Mebane, it will be about 3,000 hours per year. Commissioner Gordon said she is trying to figure out the time period for this full implementation. Bret Martin said full implementation for OPT will happen by fiscal year 2016. Commissioner Gordon referenced a report that listed a number of 34,000 hours in the first 4 years. She said these numbers don't match. Erik Landfried said that figure includes all Triangle Transit, and Chapel Hill Transit. Bret Martin said OPT is getting more hours than its share. He said the pie chart shows less than the 7,520, because it was assumed at the same operating cost as the other providers. He said OPT's operating cost is so much lower that it can squeeze out more hours. Commissioner Gordon said this is a little hard to follow, and that is something to consider before it goes to the public. Commissioner Rich referred to slide 22. She asked why it is not worth it to collect the $4,000 on the current 420 route. She asked if this is because there is not enough ridership and she asked if the fare correlates with how many people are riding the bus. Erik Landfried said part of the problem is that riders have to pay a fare on the 420, but not on the circulator; so riders transfer to the 420 and then have to pay a fare. He said this is not a user friendly service, and the 420 is the only service that charges a fare. He said the $4,000 was the maximum amount ever brought in. He said this service just does not bring in a lot of revenue. Commissioner Pelissier asked if the assumption is that the ridership will increase if it is a fare free bus service. Commissioner Pelissier asked how much money the park grant has for the park and ride lot and what percentage of the cost will be covered. Erik Landfried said he does not have the amount in front of him, but the federal grant will cover 80 percent of the cost of the park and ride lot. He said the assumption is that local revenues in Orange County to pay the local share. He said this has not been formalized yet. Commissioner Pelissier asked if there is money in the plan for capital costs, including park and ride lots. She knows the rules have changed regarding how much the federal government will share in the purchase of buses. She asked how this will work in the plan. Bret Martin said TTA is still paying for capital through the revenue that is coming in. He said there is an expectation that 30 percent of the cost of your capital should come from the federal share and 5 percent from the state. He said there is still work to be done on the federal and state shares for the buses. He said this will come before the Board. Erik Landfried said these questions about the full plan, revenues and capital cost will be brought back to the Board on June 3. He said tonight's focus is on the services the public would like to see and the projects that should be implemented. He said the questions about the